The Facebook platform was designed to connect people from around the world based upon their common interests. And while that can be a beautiful thing, it can also lead to the site being used to facilitate some pretty shady business. One of those thriving underground online markets involves the sale and trade of fake product…

Facebook is rife with scams that use fake accounts to prey on people, talking them into a romantic relationship and coercing them to send money. However, many of these fraudulent accounts use the names and images of real people — leaving the identity theft victim frustrated, confused and powerless to stop their likeness from being…

Many privacy advocates and lawmakers were skeptical when Facebook announced it was rolling out its own cryptocurrency called Libra. For a company with so many privacy problems, trusting it with financial information seemed unwise. It could be obtained by hackers, accidentally leaked to third parties or taken advantage of by scammers. Unfortunately, some of those…

Last year, consumer advice personality Martin Lewis filed a defamation lawsuit against Facebook regarding scam advertisements on the platform that used his likeness. However, he withdrew the suit when Facebook announced it would add a scam reporting feature and help fund a scam advice and prevention service. Finally, Facebook rolled out these long-promised features this…

Facebook reportedly suffered another major data breach this week, though this time it wasn’t the company’s fault. According to a report from the BBC, hackers stole the private messages of 81,000 accounts and are now selling access to them for $.10 per account. The perpetrators behind the alleged attack first contacted the BBC Russian Service,…

Facebook recently embarked on an initiative to prevent misinformation from spreading on the platform, and it also cracked down on hundreds of profiles in a so-called “spam purge.” However, according to a report in Ars Technica, other kinds of scams may be filling the vacuum left by this blocked content. Security analyst Randy Abrams told…

Watch out: There’s a new hoax making the rounds on Facebook that claims your account has been “cloned.” This scam arrives in the form of a post or message from one of your existing Facebook friends saying that they’ve received a duplicate friend request from you — or someone claiming to be you. Of course,…

With its massive user base and worldwide reach, Facebook is the perfect tool for cybercriminals looking to scam the most possible people. That includes targeting users at their most vulnerable, like when they’re depressed, out of work or struggling with addiction. Thankfully, Facebook cracked down on the latter this week when it restricted advertising for…

When Facebook announced that it’s working on a dating app that will launch later this year, many privacy experts expressed concern. After all, Facebook already knows nearly everything about us — does it need to know the intimate details of our romantic lives, too? But there’s another, less obvious issue that has some experts sounding…

Because of its simplicity and cost-free use, Facebook is fertile ground for scammers and con artists. However, Facebook typically provides users with methods to defend themselves or report an issue if they fall victim to a scam. But occasionally, a flaw in the system allows cybercriminals to take advantage of innocent users without consequence. One…